Karto-Zan languages
| Karto-Zan | |
|---|---|
| Georgian–Zan | |
| Geographic distribution | South Caucasus, Anatolia, Israel |
| Linguistic classification | Kartvelian
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Georgian–Zan |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | geor1252 |
The Karto-Zan languages, also known as Georgian–Zan, are a branch of the Kartvelian language family that contains the Georgian and Zan languages. The Svan language forms the other branch of the Kartvelian family, showing characteristic differences from the Karto-Zan group. It has been hypothesized that the divergence between Svan and Proto-Kartvelian goes back as far as the 19th century BC. Georgian and Zan on the other hand diversified from Proto-Georgian–Zan during the 7th century BC. Both languages share common archaic words related to metallurgy and agriculture absent in Svan.